Olympia High School Partners with OlyFed to Give Students Real Money Skills

Real Money Learning – Personal Finance Class at Olympia High School

On the journey to financial literacy, what could be more exciting than a high school class where students earn real money? Offering such a unique opportunity, Olympia High School has partnered with Olympia Federal Savings (OlyFed) to bring real-world financial lessons to the Personal Finance class, under the tutelage of Teacher Skip Fabritius.

What’s on the Class Curriculum?

As explained by Fabritius, the students learn core financial management topics – setting personal goals, understanding net worth and income statements, exploring career options, understanding government programs and taxes, and the fundamentals of savings and credit. Olympia High School’s Personal Finance class, now in its ninth year, is designed to give students a strong foundation for managing their own finances.

Partnering with Olympia Federal Savings: A Real-World Approach to Learning

The primary goal of the course, according to Fabritius, is to instill a habit of savings among his students. As a part of achieving this, Olympia High School reached out to OlyFed. By involving OlyFed in their financial education curriculum, Olympia High ensures that students learn practical money-management skills that they can apply in the real world. At the same time, OlyFed is strengthening their community investment by supporting financial education initiatives for young people.

Casey Kilborn, OlyFed VP retail banking manager, shared how they’ve partnered with local educators to bring their expertise to classroom lessons on diverse topics, from budgeting and investing to taxes and insurance. A highlight of this initiative is the unique opportunity for Personal Finance students to open a savings account with compounding interest at the beginning of the class.

Benefiting from Time: The Power of Compound Interest

Setting the foundation for success, Fabritius emphasized on the importance of starting savings early. With the power of compounding, his students get to learn, hands-on, how early savings can significantly grow over time.

Introducing the Student Saver CD

Further supporting this real-world learning approach, OlyFed introduced a special savings account for students – the Student Saver CD. This 12-month Certificate of Deposit (CD) offers the highest possible interest rate, allowing students to save up to $1,000 and add or withdraw funds anytime without penalty.

OlyFed representatives, including Kilborn and Ryan Betz, OlyFed SVP chief strategy and marketing officer, also visited Olympia High School’s Personal Finance classes to teach students about the banking system, credit management, account security, and the impact of banks on the local economy. These insights aim to prepare students for future financial decisions and challenges.

Olympia High School’s ‘Bringing The Bank’ Night

Highlighting the unique partnership, Olympia High School hosted a special event on November 14, 2024. This ‘Bringing The Bank’ night saw parents, students, and OlyFed representatives come together as students opened their Student Saver CD accounts and learned more about banking.

To learn more about this unique approach to financial education, please visit the Olympia Federal Savings website.

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